The OCS Blanket Square

 Hello friends, today I have a plea and a pattern to share

The plea comes from Crisis the homeless charity and I will copy here the message our Operation Christmas Stocking co-ordinator, Carol, posted to Ravelry.

Due to the situation this year the charity that we are knitting for, Crisis UK, in Edinburgh, is changing it’s approach at Christmas time.

The vast majority (theoretically all) of the people who had been rough sleeping have been offered some kind of temporary accommodation (B&Bs, hotels, hostels etc). The charity will also have a base open during the day to provide support during these challenging times. This should mean that everyone they engage with over Christmas has a roof, although likely a temporary one. They will then be supporting people in temporary accommodation into more secure housing.

This should mean that their guests will have more space of their own, and larger items such as blankets, and scarves and hats will be gratefully received as well as socks this year.

They won’t be running a physical Christmas centre this year with foot treatments etc. They will instead be offering delivered food, and “wellbeing packs” for their guests, which will include any items we make, both knitted and crocheted. Handmade items go a long way to letting our friends know that people are thinking of them at a difficult time of year, and help to build this essential sense of connection. They are planning to include various other items in their well being packs such as toiletries, underwear, gift items etc.

The charity is also planning to offer chat phone calls and digital activity sessions to try and provide some of the connection and support that their guests can expect from Christmas.

Thank you so much to everyone who has volunteered already to be involved. Your help will make such a difference. If anyone else wants to join in and help in some way by making any of these items please let us know here or PM me if you prefer.

Some of us have been knitting socks, hats ane the like all year to donate but I for one was slightly concerned when blankets were mentioned with only a couple of months to go. After a few discussions with friends we decided that blanket squares would be a good option, at that point the OCS blanket square was born and I happily offered to assemble the blankets from any donated squares. We decided on a 12" (30cm) square so that 20 squares would make a decent sized blanket and involve minimal making up due to time constraints.

The OCS Blanket Square

Yarn 

DK weight, leftovers from projects are ideal. Or

2 strands of sock weight yarn held together

Needles

4mm needles

Notions

A tapestry needle to sew in ends.

Abbreviations

K - Knit

KFB - Knit into the front and back of stitch (one stitch increased)

K2tog - Knit 2 stitches Together (one stitch decreased)

K3tog - Knit 3 stitches together (two stitches decreased)

S1 - Slip stitch purlwise with yarn in front

Pattern

Cast on 3 stitches

Row 1 - S1 KFB K to end of row

Repeat row 1 until you have 80 stitches on the needles and the side measures approx 12" or 30cm

Row 2 S1 K2tog K to end of row

Repeat row 2 until there is 3 stitches left on needle then K3tog fasten off and sew in ends.

And that's it your square is done.

For those knitting for OCS please message me on 

Ravelry - mazbil or

Instagram - The_Sunday_Sock

for my address to send completed squares for me to assemble into blankets.

Thank you all in advance for helping this wonderful cause.

Yummy Yarn and a Couple of Mysteries

 Hello friends, I have a couple of mysteries to share. First up is the new MKAL, Slipstravaganza, from the talented and fun designer Stephen West. This is the 11th year that Stephen has designed a Mystery knit along for October, and whilst by no means have I done them all and certainly not during the KAL, I have knitted a few. This year I have decided to bite the bullet and take part. So being somewhat thrifty I dug through my stash and came up with this yummy quartet.

As you can see I have gone for some luxury with the Cascade Heritage Silk. My main colour is the Marine with, Snow and Sunflower. This brings me to the second mystery, the wound ball is a gift-a-ball from Rosie's Moments in the Flower Power Fund Forget-me-Not colour. This beautiful ball of yarn has lots of lovely surprise gifts hidden inside and was sent to me by a mystery benefactor. I have absolutely no idea whom it is from but needless to say I am very thankful. Having this special gift will make the KAL doubly fun as I find the gifts inside along with seeing the shawl develop, and every day I knit I will be thankful for the surprise yarn.

Slipstravaganza begins on Oct 9th so there is still plenty of time to join in and knit along with me and hundreds of others, there is a group on Ravelry which can be found here to join in all the fun.

Until next time, stay safe

Mary

Getting Hygge with it, Scottish Style

 Hello friends, sorry for the absence, my health has been playing up and I have been put on a new medication to try and get my diabetes under control. Whilst I have been dealing with this I simply haven't been able to find the words to chat with you. I am now going to make the blog posts more sporadic and more spontaneous, writing when I have something to share rather than putting pressure on myself to come up with something weekly. 

With the turn of the season,(it's really starting to feel autumnal here), and in an effort to reduce my stress levels I have been reading up on all things Hygge and I find the idea of being content with what I have in my life to be somewhat liberating. Whilst not going the full Danish hog, I have dug out some candles and light them daily, put on some of my favourite perfume, even though I am not going anywhere, and have started listening to the wonderful Skinner series of books by Quintin Jardine whilst wearing snuggly knitted socks and comfy clothes. It really is making a difference to how I feel and I am even knitting with more thought and relaxation. 

The Candles

I love candles, and whilst the Danish go for unscented, I have only scented. I also have an electric wax melt so the room smells beautiful. I find the flame so mesmerizing and when I feel a wee bit stressed simply looking at it for a few seconds grounds me and I instantly feel more relaxed.

The Books

The Skinner series is in no way a cosy mystery series, in fact, the total opposite. They are gritty and full-on making Edinburgh and it's environs sound like a very dangerous and hostile city. It is neither, I always felt very safe in my home city and in my time I have visited every part. That being said, hubs and I find them easy listening and truly enjoy the narration by James Bryce. We have made it to book 9 of 31 and are enjoying the series very much all over again.

The Knitting

As always I have a sock on the pins but my main project is the wonderfully relaxing and meditative Woollsia Shawl by Ambah O'Brien which I am knitting using Scheepjes Whirl in Coral Catastrophe.

Simple garter stitch and eyelets made more impressive by the beautiful gradient yarn. 

That's it for now. Thanks for letting me share with you, stay safe

Mary